Discourse on Political Economy and The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Translated with Introduction and Notes by Christopher Betts

Censored in its own time, the Social Contract (1762) remains a key source of democratic belief and is one of the classics of political theory.

This new translation is fully annotated and indexed. The volume also contains the opening chapter of the manuscript version of the Contract, together with the long article on Political Economy, a work traditionally between the Contract and Rousseau's earlier masterpiece, the Discourse on Inequality.

Discourse on Political Economy and The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Translated with Introduction and Notes by Christopher Betts

Description

Revolutionary in its own time and controversial to this day, this work is a permanent classic of political theory and a key source of democratic belief. Rousseau's concepts of "the general will" as a mode of self-interest uniting for a common good, and the submission of the individual to government by contract inform the heart of democracy, and stand as its most contentious components today. Also included in this edition is Rousseau's Discourse on Political Economy", a key transitional work between his Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract. This new translation offers fresh insight into a cornerstone of political thought, which is further illuminated by a comprehensive introduction and notes.

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